The International Mammalian Genome Conference is a popular stanchion of the mouse community, and the annual conference of the International Mammalian Genome Society. This meeting began nineteen years ago in Paris, France, to provide a forum for promoting the understanding of the mouse genome. Initially, the focus was on building physical maps, understanding mouse strains and their variation, and developing new genetic strategies for modeling human disease. Now, understanding the functional relevance of mammalian genes is a major goal. Today, with sequence of the mouse genome available, and multiple genome sequences being completed, focus remains on modeling human diseases, and identifying new genes involved in simple and complex genetic disorders. New technologies are an emphasis, but are moving towards understanding evolutionarily conserved non-coding sequences and developing phenotyping strategies to understand mouse biology and physiology. The aims of the Mammalian Genome Conferences are 1) To communicate important discoveries of the genome project, 2) To coordinate the generation and dissemination of information on new mutant mice, 3) To evaluate the status of informatics resources for comparative vertebrate bioinformatics, 4) To develop and establish priorities for 'functional genomics'strategies, including development of new assays for large scale phenotypic screening, and research resources, 5) To foster international and national collaborative research among investigators using the mouse as a genetic model, and 6) To mentor students and postdoctoral fellows in the area of mouse genetics, genomics and biology. Relevance: The mouse is a primary genetic model for human disease. The International Mammalian Genome Conferences, in particular, promote human disease modeling through genetic strategies and through international collaborations to better utilize mouse resources.